Colin Droster
Robin Ryan at Literacy Network.
Robin Ryan says the citizenship prep course will continue.
Interest among immigrants in becoming citizens has increased since President Donald Trump returned to office in January, says Robin Ryan, executive director of local nonprofit Literacy Network.
“There’s a lot of value, particularly right now, in taking that next step in becoming a citizen, in terms of safety, security, being able to vote, being able to travel freely,” says Ryan.
The logo for the 2025 Nonprofit Issue.
Courses on how to pass the citizenship exam are one of many services provided by the Literacy Network, located on South Park Street near Goodman South Library. The nonprofit, founded in 1974, assists mostly adult students in learning English or improving their competency in the language. It served 1,558 students in 2024, says Ryan. A January 2025 merger with the Omega School — a nonprofit that helps adults and adolescents obtain high school equivalency degrees — is expected to boost those numbers.
Students often use the skills they learn to advance in their careers and educational pursuits and to attain citizenship, Ryan says. The courses are free except for course materials, which can range from $20-$40, though scholarships are available to cover those costs.
Margaret Franchino, Literacy Network’s marketing and events manager, says that in 2024, students represented 88 different countries and spoke 68 unique native languages. Approximately 61% were between 30 and 54 years of age; 96% were from low-income households.
Contributions from individual donors, corporations and foundations made up 68% of the nonprofit’s 2024 revenue. Local and federal government grants, at 17%, comprised the other significant chunk. The nonprofit’s budget is $2.2 million. It spent $1.8 million on programs in 2024, with $213,000 and $165,000 for management and fundraising, respectively.
On his first day back in office, Trump suspended refugee admissions and terminated ongoing refugee applications through an executive order. Given that almost no refugees are entering the country, Ryan expects its government funding for refugee resettlement services will be reduced. In 2024, the nonprofit received $190,000 in federal refugee funds and served 216 refugees.
In March, the federal government terminated a two-year grant the nonprofit received in 2023 for a citizenship exam preparation course, resulting in a loss of nearly $57,000 in expected funds. Ryan says 58 students in the course became citizens in 2025.
“We’re not going to stop doing it,” says Ryan. “[We] just have to find other ways to fund it.”
